Posts published in Day: June 19, 2019

Hong Kong lawmakers grilled the city’s security secretary Wednesday over allegations of police brutality during protests over an extradition bill that eventually was suspended. The agenda for the meeting showed that pro-democracy members were planning to file a motion of no-confidence for Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s handling of the legislation, which sparked the demonstrations over recent weeks including a massive march on Sunday. The opposition lawmakers were wearing black with…

According to Finance Minister Martin Helme (EKRE), the shoot in Tallinn for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie “Tenet” will have a broader positive impact on the local economy. For this reason, Helme has now said he is in favor of covering part of the production company’s costs out of Film Estonia’s funds. “Estonia stands to win a lot. On one hand, part of the support paid out will make it back…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared unsteady and was visibly shaking Tuesday as she greeted the new Ukrainian leader in the hot sun in Berlin, saying later that she clearly hadn’t drunk enough water. Merkel’s whole body visibly shook and she pursed her lips as she tried to contain the situation as she stood with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the 28-degree Celsius (82-degree Fahrenheit) heat while a military band played…

Genoa, Italy (PortSEurope) June 19, 2019 – The Ambassador of Lithuania to Italy, Ričardas Šlepavičius, has paid a visit to the port of Genoa. The Ambassador held a meeting with Paolo Emilio Signorini, President of Autorita’ di Sistema Portuale del Mar Ligure Occidentale (AdSP – Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority) where the primary focus was future possible cooperation between Genoa and Klaipeda Port Authority, the only Lithuanian port.

Pot use in pregnancy has doubled among U.S. women and is most common during the first trimester, government research shows. Overall, 7% of pregnant women, or 1 in 14, said they used marijuana in the past month. That’s from a nationally representative health survey in 2016-17 and compares with a little over 3% in 2002-03. Some studies have linked marijuana use during pregnancy with increased chances of premature birth and…

The Latvian government has approved the rise of the lowest pay rate of teachers, but funds for this purpose have been earmarked only for the second half of 2019. The Latvian Cabinet of Ministers passed on Tuesday, June 18, amendments to the Rules of Teacher Salary, setting forth the increase from September 1 of the lowest rate of teacher salary from 710 to 750 euros. The funds would come from…

A rocket hit an oil-drilling site in Iraq’s southern Basra province early Wednesday, striking inside a compound housing energy giant Exxon Mobil and wounding three local workers, one seriously, Iraqi officials said. According to security official Mahdi Raykan, a Katyusha rocket landed at dawn in the Zubair and Rumeila oil fields camp, operated by the Iraqi Drilling company, where Exxon Mobil and other foreign oil companies have tents. Exxon Mobil,…

On June 19–20 Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis will take part in the Baltic Defence Committee meeting in Tartu (Estonia). He will discuss European Union defence initiatives and coordinate the Baltic countries’ positions concerning the Euro-Atlantic agenda with his counterpart of Latvia Artis Pabriks and of Estonia Jüri Luik. Significant attention at the meeting will be paid to the joint trilateral Baltic projects, development of the joint recognised maritime…

President Donald Trump officially kicked off his reelection campaign Tuesday night in Orlando, Florida, with a sprawling, intense, fiery speech that nearly lasted an hour and a half. But in listening to the president’s words, you’d swear you were right back in 2015 watching the billionaire businessman descend down that golden escalator in Trump tower. Throughout the president’s speech in front of a packed Amway Center, he heavily echoed many…

Estonian parliament speaker Henn Polluaas and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic acknowledged at their meeting on Tuesday that Estonia and Croatia are close in terms of their their common values and world view and stand for a rules-based world order. “The relations between our two countries are excellent,” Polluaas was quoted by parliament spokespeople as saying. “Although we are not neighbors, our histories have a lot in common, and we have…